How Do you Protect Your Firearms at Home?

[Shytheed Dumas]

I'm curious to see how much people are investing in protecting firearms at home from burglars. I know some have multiple cabinets/safes and some hide guns throughout the house, but I am curious what the primary means of protection against theft is. Needless to say, this is an anonymous poll.

 

[Doucme2]

I have two gun safes and guns in lock boxes in several areas of the house.. When I travel, I have a key lockbox cabled to my seat frame with enough cable to keep the weapon within reach with the key in the lock while I'm in the vehicle.

 

[GIJOEL]

While I have a basic Stack On safe I make it a point to avoid advertising that I have firearms or shoot. Anyone who has been shooting has seen an range bag, so I use a husky tool bag that looks just like the one I take to work every day. I think that a house known to have firearms inside could be incentive for a burglar.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

I knew I'd miss something... Lock boxes. Dang!

 

[hso]

Alarm system, dogs, safe

 

[Dulvarian]

I don't worry about it.

If someone is gonna go for it, I have a lot of high dollar electronics that are far more theft worthy and far less penitentiary time than the guns. Most criminals know the laws and penalties fairly well. If you are in an area that you have to worry about that... Well, I would consider moving.

I'm sure all of my neighbors have seen me toting rifle cases and ammo boxes and gun bags. They've also seen me throwing knives and cracking a bullwhip in my front yard as well. Military decals on the cars. We'll just say they give me breathing room.

The alarm system is simply to alert me of an intrusion. If I am home, it is go time because I set it to instant alarm. If I am not home, I get a phone call, and I will make the police clear the house. I have insurance, and there is no way that someone that hasn't seen where I keep them all will find them all. The dog helps for the alert system as well. She gets real protective and sounds like a beast when she barks. She's as much defense as an alarm for alerting us to anything. She might crotch nudge them to death if they got inside, though I've seen her get bunched up at people before.

Besides, for what I could spend on a "good safe", all I am doing is slowing down the time it would take a determined criminal, not to mention... $2k will buy a LOT of ammo, or a couple or three guns.

 

[Kwanger]

My firearms and ammo are in a couple of cheapo sentry safes, bolted down into the concrete slab in discreet locations. I also have a gunvault for my Glock in the bedside drawer.

My priority, however, rather than serious theft deterrance is to ensure they are secured and well away from the hands of my little one, her friends, other visitors, etc, and casual, unprepared opportunist thieves. I'm sure the safes would serve as little more than a very short time delaying annoyance against pros.....but I can live with that; give a pro enough time and they will even have your mega expensive safe defeated - and I don't have a really valuable collection, more a bunch of functional range and defense tools about $3k in total value, I'd say. A bad daddy safe would probably cost nearly as much.

 

[Mags]

First off I never load/unload from my truck with guns while my truck is in the driveway. I always load up in the garage with the doors closed.

I also have a cheap 600 dollar safe with a 3 position combination lock and 1 inch locking bolts. The safe is hidden in a closet and bolted to a concrete floor. Probably just an incovenience for an experienced crook but perhaps it will eat enough time for a response.

My house is also alarmed, I have a good watch dog in the house with me that is a Pit/Shar-Pei mix, and my carry gun is never out of reach.

 

[Coolbreeze8804]

BIG high end safe. Up front in the shop. It's visible from the street and bolted to the floor with 6 1/2" lags clear through the concrete. It's around a corner from the front so they can't get a cable or tractor on it effectively. (Not to mention the whole assy weighs over 2000 lbs, so they aren't going to just throw in the truck to open later....) that way the old retired guy across the street has a good view of them while they work on it. (Yep, I gave him a matching shotgun and pistol for just that purpose, and he can't wait to use them to say thank you... I think he thinks he's Ifficer Bob reincarnated ) My alarm calls me if he house is breached, but I'm too far away to be useful while I'm at work, and the local LEO's don't respond. (cut budget, no property crimes enforcement), so I have to rely on good neighbors and good will.

I also have a few laying around the house in good spots in case I need one while I'm home and I don't have my carry gun on me for some reason.

 

[ScratchnDent]

Redacted: opsec

 

[ROGER4314]

Gun safes are OK but the best theft deterrent is a neighbor who knows you and will intervene in a robbery or burglary.

Every one of my neighbors is armed. I am armed. We all know each other and look out for each other. Anyone coming into our dead end street looking for trouble will do so at his own peril. That sounds like lots of hot air but we went through several hurricanes and people who tried to enter our neighborhood to steal were met with 12 gauge shotguns. We intend to keep our neighborhood safe!

I urge all of you to get to know your neighbors. There isn't a gun safe or alarm system made that will protect you better than neighbors who know and care about you.

Flash

 

[Cosmoline]

I use a Knaak box loaded down with enough lead to make it too heavy to move. The steel can of course be cut with a torch, but not without destroying the contents.

 

[gun guy]

i have some weapons in a vintage gun cabinet, others ready service types in a lock box, some, the carcano for example are in a cheap gun safe, the more expensive ones are in a high end safe, still others are stored off premise in a comercial armed and armoured storage unit. i was really amazed at a video by one safe company, showing a couple big guys going thru a variety of commercial gun safes with sledge hammers and wedges in a fairly short time. big $$$ doesnt always mean a strong safe. some commercial bank type safes, modified for firearms are stronger and cheaper than gun safes.

 

[valorius]

I have cameras, steel entry doors that self lock, and an alarm system.

 

[mustang_steve]

Wal-Mart pistol "safe", mounted to my nightstand via a steel sub-plate with two threaded posts welded in. It's big enough to hold 4 handguns, only has two in it. My third is my carry/HD pistol...it's availible at all times.

My only rifle is concealed within a piece of furniture (no not under a mattress, it's more creative than that, carpentry was required). This is due to my issues with spending more than the contents on a safe...it's a Marlin 60 for pete's sake...harder to get any cheaper than that.

The wal-mart safe is a nice basic locker, about $25 and well worth having. I did end up carpeting it in black felt to prevent scratches as well.

 

[heeler]

Roger 4314 since I also live in NE Houston all I can say is your luckier than me obviously because NONE of my immediate neighbors can even speak the English language.
Not much chance of getting help there.
You know full well what this means.
So...Dog,burglar bars, high end safe,ever vigilant home owner,etc.
What a mess.

 

[Gouranga]

For long guns, I got the stack on safe in a corner of my closet with bolts going through the back and sides into wall studs and 2 going through the floor into the floor joists. I am in the process of building a solid oak shell around it as well (for aesthetics and security).

Handgun is almost always with me, when it is not, I have a biometric safe under the bed (mainly to keep it out of the hands of my children). The house has security system camera, good lighting, and a big dog.

Like others, I do not advertise I have guns. I do not have NRA or GRNC stickers on anything, nor any advertising for the gun manufacturers.

 

[Kwanger]

Redacted: opsec

Good idea, best to say nothing on these forums.....just in the event that interested criminals have a read, then hack into the THR website, manage to retrieve your IP address and work out who your Internet provider is....then hack your ISP's information holdings, get your subscriber information and address info, then go to rob your house....why, it'd be easy, armed with the info you just supplied on here.....

 

[oldbanjo]

Today I Don't have high dollar guns like I used to, so I don't go to a lot of trouble protecting them or hiding them like I did 40 years ago. When going overseas for three weeks or so I would remove a piece of paneling and put guns in wall where plumbing is and or under the tub, only my brother knew my hiding place. Today I have a heavy piece of steel cable with rubber on the outside about 12 feet long, I run this cable thru a steel shelf, then thru the handles of six or seven ammo boxes then in front of all weapons. I lock all guns to this cable with padlocks. This will slow a thief down and keep someone from shooting at me with my on gun. Pistols are everywhere loaded, not locked, some shotguns too.

 

[clamman]

Guns? I don't have any guns.

 

[rattletrap1970]

Mine have their very own locked room.

 

[TH3180]

I didn't vote because what I have isn't up there. I have an unfinished basement. It is framed out have a large walk-in closet/storage space. I finished that off with steel plates in the walls and a steel fire door with a dead bolt. I don't really have a fear of my guns getting stolen. As my kids get older I want to beable to keep there friends out when I'm not around. The reason I say friends, my kids know if they want to see one of my guns they can ask me and I will let them. Heck I think my son is more comfortable around guns then my wife is.
The steel plating is in case of a fire. I got it free from work so I put it in the walls. I do have the $100 safes in the room also bolted to shelf that you would have to cut up to get them out of the room.

 

[CoRoMo]

I protect my firearms the same way I protect my other property... with a few loaded guns at the ready. The dogs should give me a hint that it is time to grab one. But actually, I have a number of 'layers' in my security platform. The most recent safe that I put in my basement was well over that $1,800 figure, but I don't consider it "High End" by any means; just barely adequate IMO. It was just all I was willing to afford. I only WISH I could go 'high end', but it's way better than just keeping them under the bed and in the back corners of the closets.

 

[HOWARD J]

Browning type gun safe. We have so much traffic thru here--- a crook would have to wait his turn.--------------

 

[BushyGuy]

i have a Stack on gun safe, i only own 7 guns if i get a few more i will upgrade to a $400.00 safe once my gun investments grow.